DUKE AT PITTSBURGH
WHEN: 3:30
PM ET, Saturday, October 27, 2018
WHERE: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania
During a season that has included embarrassing losses to
No. 16 Penn State, North Carolina and No. 10 Central Florida, Pittsburgh
rallied with a win over Syracuse and a great effort last week against No. 3
Notre Dame before succumbing 19-14. The Panthers will try to build upon their
last two outings Saturday when they host a Duke team that is undefeated on the
road this season.
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi, who was given a seven-year
contract extension last December, built his reputation as a defensive
coordinator at Michigan State, but his troops have struggled since he came to
Pittsburgh. In the five games prior to Notre Dame, the Panthers had surrendered
an average of 38 points per game, and his teams have allowed nearly 30 points
an outing during his four-year tenure. The Blue Devils entered the rankings by
starting the season 4-0, but they’ve lost two of their last three, including
28-14 to Virginia last week. In last year’s meeting between the Panthers and
Blue Devils, Pitt backup Darrin Hall ran for a career-high 254 yards, including
touchdown runs of 79, 92 and 4 yards, in a 24-17 Pitt victory.
TV: 3:30
p.m. ET, ACC Network. LINE: Duke
-2.5.
ABOUT DUKE (5-2, 1-2 ACC): Daniel
Jones (64.5 completion percentage, 1,061 yards, nine TDs, four interceptions)
passed for 240 yards and a touchdown against Virginia, but the only other TD
the offense could muster was a 22-yard pass from wide receiver T.J. Rahming to
Davis Koppenhaver on a trick play. Left tackle Jaylen Miller was lost for the
season with a lower leg injury in the first quarter and linebacker Ben
Humphreys injured his left leg in the second quarter. Linebacker Joe Giles-Harris
leads the team with 59 tackles and needs nine more to become the 20th player in
Duke history to reach the 300-tackle plateau.
ABOUT PITTSBURGH
(3-4, 2-1): Quarterback Kenny Pickett (62.4 completion percentage, six
TDs, five interceptions) is averaging less than 10 yards per completion and was
19-for-28 for only 126 yards against the Irish. With 646 rushing yards, Qadree
Ollison ranks third among ACC ball-carriers, and his average of 92.3 yards per
game ranks second. Hall has 376 yards, four touchdowns and a 6.6
yards-per-carry average this season.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Pittsburgh leads the all-time
series 13-9, including wins in four of five games since joining the ACC.
2. The Blue Devils have thrown a
league-low four interceptions (tied with three other teams) while tossing 17
scoring passes, the second-highest total in the conference behind only Boston
College (19).
3. Ollison is striving to become
only the sixth player in Pitt history to achieve multiple 1,000-yard rushing
seasons. He had 1,121 yards as a freshman in 2015.
PREDICTION: Pittsburgh 28, Duke
24
STATS AND RECORDS
TEAM COMPARISON
|
W‑L
|
Strk
|
PF
|
PA
|
Home
|
Away
|
Grass
|
Turf
|
Conf
|
Duke
|
5-2
|
L1
|
29.4
|
19.1
|
2-2
|
3-0
|
5-2
|
0-0
|
1-2
|
Pittsburgh
|
3-4
|
L1
|
24.3
|
30.9
|
3-1
|
0-3
|
3-3
|
0-0
|
2-1
|
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